Keep It Simple
by WhiteTieNikki
Summary: 64-Theme Challenge. When band is what you live for, why let anything else get in the way? A music-themed world, revolving around the lives of Jackson High's Drum Majors, Hailey, Layla, Brooklyn, and Arianna, from summer camp towards the road to State.
1. Themes

Yes, I'm joining the trend and doing one of these challenges. Ideas? Lay them on me :)

Although, I must admit, I won't be writing 100 words exactly, I might not even be writing drabbles. These words will just be guiding me along, if that makes sense. Also, I stole the list from duchesscourtney's blog, so you can find it too, if you want :)

Chapter one coming soon; it would make this post too cluttered. Enjoy the list!

**1. Accelerando**

**2. Adagio**

3. Allegro

4. Alto

5. Andante

6. Atonal

7. Ballad

8. Baritone

9. Baroque

10. Bass

11. Beat

12. Cadence

13. Cadenza

14. Cappella

15. Chorale

16. Chord

17. Chorus

18. Chromatic

19. Coda

20. Contralto

21. Crescendo

22. Decrescendo

23. Duet

24. Ensemble

25. Fanfare

26. Flat

27. Forte

28. Fortepiano

29. Fugue

30. Glissando

31. Harmony

32. Hymn

33. Improvisation

34. Interlude

35. Intermezzo

36. Intonation

37. Largo

38. Legato

39. Libretto

40. Measure

41. Mezzo

42. Minor

43. Molto

44. Note

45. Octave

46. Overture

47. Phrase

48. Piano

49. Pianoforte

50. Prelude

51. Rhythm

52. Rondo

53. Scale

54. Scherzo

55. Sharp

56. Sonata

57. Symphony

58. Tempo

59. Tenor

60. Toccata

61. Treble

62. Trill

63. Vibrato

64. Vivace


	2. Accelerando

**Accelerando:**

_(Italian) accelerating, getting gradually faster, quickening the pace, with increasing speed_

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Hailey Robins flipped through her magazine impatiently, trying not to look at her watch again. She had already checked the device at 7:16, 7:19, 7:21, and 7:23. The closer the time grew to 7:30, the more agitated she became.

Finally, at 7:32, she heard her mother grab her keys from the counter. "Hailey! Come on, honey!" the woman called from the front hall.

Sighing, Hailey threw the magazine to the side and grabbed her crutches, hoisting herself up off the couch. She hobbled to the front hall and out the door, carefully making her way down the sidewalk. Her mother helped her into the backseat of the car, and she set her crutches across her lap, letting her head fall back and shutting her eyes as the car began to move. "Today is going to suck," she muttered, groaning.

From the front seat, her mother clucked disapprovingly. "Sweetie, everything will be okay," the woman attempted to soothe her daughter's frayed nerves. "You'll be back on your feet in a few weeks-"

"That's just it, Mom! I don't _have _a few weeks to deal with crutches; I need to be walking today! I'm head Drum Major! How will anybody respect me if I'm conducting in a chair?"

Shaking her head in surrender, her mother fell silent and focused on driving. Hailey bit her lip and stared out the window, watching with envy as other teenagers drove by in their sleek new summer cars without a problem. "Mom, can we go a little faster? I have to be there in four minutes."

Her mother glanced at the clock on the dashboard and let out a gasp. "Oh, I didn't even realize the time," she admitted, and she pressed her foot down on the gas. The car accelerated immediately, reaching the speed limit (or passing it slightly) in a matter of seconds. Hailey settled back in her seat a little more comfortably, resting her head on the cool glass next to her.

Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, they reached the high school. Mom opened the car door for Hailey and helped her out, then hugged her lightly. "Have fun. You're officially a senior now; go crazy," she advised, before climbing back in the car and driving away.

Enjoy it? Not probable, but nonetheless, Hailey made her towards the band hall, mounting the five steps that preceded the large brown door with trepidation. The last thing she needed was to fall and break her left ankle as well.

As soon as she entered the band hall, she could feel all eyes on her, and she reddened immediately. Freshmen gasped at her cast-covered foot; sophomores and juniors eyed her sun-tanned body in either excitement or jealousy, depending on the gender of the observer. Most of the seniors simply snickered. "Typical," she heard Jessica drawl to Bianca. "Always with the dramatics, huh, Hailey?"

Clenching her jaw tightly, she continued to hobble to the band director's office, where Layla and Arianna were seated on the carpet, organizing sheet music into folders. They looked up at her and gasped.

"Hailey, what the hell did you do?" Layla asked, jumping to her feet. Arianna followed a bit more slowly, staring at Hailey's plaster-covered foot. The injured girl rolled her eyes and leaned carefully against the wall.

"If I tell you, you have to swear not to tell anybody else," she ordered in a harsh whisper. Layla and Arianna both nodded eagerly, leaning in to hear better.

"Okay…I fell when I ran down the stairs."

Arianna gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Layla, on the other, burst into loud, boisterous laughter, clutching her stomach tightly as she doubled over. "Y-you've got to be kidding me," she gasped, tears of mirth falling from her eyes. "Hard-ass Hailey gets it handed to her by a freaking set of stairs?"

Hailey scowled. "Hey! I know I didn't _say _'don't laugh', but that kind of comes with the package, don't you think?"

Her best friend nodded as solemnly as she could, still holding back giggles. "You're right; I'm sorry," she apologized, grabbing her water canteen and slinging the strap attached to it over her shoulder. "Now come on; we'll figure out how to handle that later. It's time to start the day!"

She, Hailey, and Arianna trooped out of the office and back into the band hall, observing the teens milling around before them critically. Hailey saw Jessica snicker at her yet again, and sighed tiredly to herself.

Already, she could tell it was going to be a long day.

* * *

Chapter One! If you're reading this and spot a mistake, please let me know; I don't have a beta, and truthfully, I wouldn't keep up with one as faithfully as I would need to for this story.

**Chapter Question: If you are/were in band, what instrument do/did you play? Or, if not, what elective are/were you in?**

I would really love reviews, if you have the time :)


	3. Adagio

**Adagio:**

_(Italian) literally 'at ease', 'leisurely', as an indication of tempo, slow, leisurely, solemnly, generally slower than _andante_ and faster than _largo

* * *

It was 7:59 in the morning, on a bright, sunny, July Monday, and the teenagers crowding the South Copperton High School band hall could not have been more exhausted. Most were sitting or lying on the carpet, trying to catch a few minutes of rest before marching practice began.

That wasn't going to work, Hailey decided. Straightening up on her crutches, she took a deep breath.

"BAND!"

The result was instantaneous. All upperclassmen, and even those freshmen that weren't completely incompetent, jumped to their feet, placed their left arm behind their backs, and their right one rigidly at their side. "SOUTH!" they chimed in unison, watching Hailey and her two companions for more instructions.

"Alright, everybody get outside!" Layla ordered, watching in satisfaction as the two hundred and fifty students before her did as they were told. "It feels better than it did last year," she said to Hailey and Arianna, giggling as the three of them followed their band out to the parking lot.

A large portion of the lot was roped off with cones and bright yellow CAUTION tape, proudly marking the territory as belonging to the band. It was to this area that the group of students walked, pausing and waiting for more instructions.

"Section Leaders, split up your sections into rows of ten and show them where to stand! Flutes to tubas!"

Arianna watched as, slowly, the mass of people before her gained some form and order. Students stood in lines of ten, stretching over sixty feet across and fifty feet back. Once everyone knew where they were to stand, they moved to set their water bottles and canteens next to them, before returning to their spots and beginning to stretch.

"Did I miss anything important?"

Starting, Arianna turned to see Brooklyn standing beside her, hands on her hips. The black-haired girl scowled. "Where have you been? I covered for you with Layla, but Hailey's in a bad mood, and if she notices that you _just _got here-"

"Foster!"

Brooklyn and Arianna flinched simultaneously, turning to greet Hailey with weary smiles. "Hey Hailey," Brooklyn began, sounding a bit hopeful. "Um, sorry about being late; my Mom made me run to the store for her before I came here-"

"Cut the crap, Foster. You were supposed to be here six minutes ago; you're late, no excuses." Hailey fixed the pair before her with a level gaze. "You two are still juniors, whether you are Drum Majors or not, and I can assign you laps just like the rest of the band. So I would strongly suggest that you learn your place and stick to the rules, or I will have no problem placing either of you on probation. Got it?"

Red-faced, Arianna bit her lip and nodded. She nudged Brooklyn in the side when her friend didn't answer Hailey; the girl sighed but nodded reluctantly in understanding.

Satisfied for the moment, Hailey hobbled back over to where Layla was standing before the band, leading the stretching. "If I catch you slacking off on this, you'll be running ten times around the school!" she threatened. Layla snorted at her friend, but the other students grumbled and began to put more energy into their stretches.

"I hate her," Brooklyn muttered, once she was sure that Hailey was too far away to be able to hear her. "I mean, not always, but sometimes I really do hate her. She thinks that just because she's a year older, she can boss us around like that?"

Arianna shrugged; she was never comfortable arguing with anybody. "Let's just go help her out," she decided, walking over in Layla and Hailey's' direction and standing a little ways away from them so that more of the band could see her, while Brooklyn did the same thing on the other side. Layla, Brooklyn, and Arianna led the stretches slowly, while Hailey limped through the sea of band members, checking to make sure that everybody was working. "Focus!" she would occasionally call out, startling whoever happened to stand next to her at that moment. "This is going to help you in the long run! Besides, we're going to do it every day, so get used to it!"

"I can see that you all have been busy," a voice commented mildly in Layla's ear. The senior turned and broke into a grin.

"Where have you been all morning, Mr. Fitz? The band hall was unlocked when we got here, but none of you guys were here."

"Bryan and Sarah are out of town for a gig, and Marie already took the Colorguard to the gym for morning practice, so it's just me today," the man said, smiling as he observed the teenagers stretching before him. "Nobody looks very happy."

"Well, when you've got Hailey screaming and threatening to beat you with one of her crutches…" Brooklyn muttered, just loudly enough to be heard by Layla, who turned and shot her a glare. Mr. Fitzwilliam simply laughed.

"That won't work; our marchers have to be happy. Let me take over from here," he told Layla. The girl nodded and took a few steps back, whistling to draw everyone's attention to the man before her.

"All right guys, let's be honest: everybody hates stretching," the man shouted, drawing a few laughs. "That being said, you have to do them anyways. They increase flexibility and loosen your body, and those two things are very useful in marching."

He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it onto the ground before facing the band again. "Now then, let's start over, and everybody copy me. Think of it as music! This isn't just something you're doing so you can be done with it; you're _living _it. What speed do you think we should move at?"

"Slowly!" many of the students called out earnestly. Mr. Fitzgerald shook his head.

"We aren't in English class! We're in marching band! Use marching band terms!"

"Adagio!" a small, slight freshman girl suggested loudly. She blushed and covered her mouth, cheeks turning red. Mr. Fitzgerald smiled kindly at her.

"Adagio it is," he decided, bringing his arms out to his side and stretching his fingertips. "Alright, together now. And…inhale! Exhale! Inhale! Exhale!"

Arms swept up and floated down; Deep breaths were released simultaneously, creating a stirring in the air amongst two hundred and fifty teenagers. Hailey returned to the front of the group and stood by Layla, her expression sullen.

"Why can't I get them to work like that?" she whispered to her best friend.

Layla didn't answer.

* * *

Chapter Dos! Man, this story is so fun to write, but I meant to upload this chapter two days ago, and the Login area was screwed up! It's just now letting me on. Still, better late than never, right?

Chapter Question: What is/was your favorite High School elective?


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